The Interconnection
concept

Following
on from the Facebook connections map showcased in the last posting, I thought
it worthwhile to explore the Interconnection concepts of the Australian Curriculum
Geography. I was further prodded to do so after watching the YouTube video on the Kony2012 initiative.

I
kept asking myself, is this geography and could it be used in a geography
class? Is it political
geography, cultural geography, human well-being, development geography,
demography? Can such a phenomenon and
resource be used as a case study in geography.
To explore this idea I revisited the Interaction concept (one of seven Australian
Curriculum: Geography concepts) and had a look at several units which have been
written for the draft curriculum released in October 2011 (namely Global Connections
and Human Well-being). So what is the
concept of Interconnection according to the draft Australian Curriculum:
Geography.

The
concept of Interconnection (draft AC: Geography page 9)

The concept of interconnection,
in geography, emphasises that no object of geographical study can be viewed in
isolation. It is about the ways that geographical phenomena are connected to
each other through environmental processes, the movement of people, flows of
trade and investment, the purchase of goods and services, cultural influences,
the exchange of ideas and information, political power, international
agreements and other types of interaction across space.

• exploring
the networks that channel the interconnections between places, and which can
advantage some places and disadvantage others

• learning
to see their own locality in a wider national and global context, and gaining
an understanding of the external factors that influence the locality’s present
and future

The concept
of interconnection is particular alive and well in the following units of the
draft curriculum

The Year 9 unit calledNavigating global connections

This unit
focuses on the connectedness of Australia with its region and the world. This
is explored initially through the eyes of the student and the connections and
contacts they have with the wider world in their everyday lives. The unit then
looks at the nature of Australia’s connections (with particular emphasis on
social and economic connections) and the positive and negative impacts of these
connections. The ability of a student to act locally, but with a regional and
global view of the consequences is investigated.

Year 10 unit called Global well-being

This unit
focuses on the nature of well-being around the world and how can it be
measured. Spatial characteristics of well-being and the factors that influence
it, and the inequalities that exist at a variety of scales, are used to
investigate programs that address issues of well-being.

Content descriptions from unit

There are interrelationships
between human well-being and conflict

There are
significant spatial variations in human well-being within nations, at both
regional and local scales

A non-government program which attempts to improve human well-being in another
country, and why such programs may be spatially targeted at specific
regions within the country

People are
connected to places across the world through their cultural interests and
activities

There are
many other places across the draft curriculum where the concept of
interconnection is fundamental to the geographic understanding of the topic
studied. I have selected these units
because they are particularly pertinent to using the Kony2012 initative as a
case study of a geographical phenomenon. So how is the Kony2012 a geographical
study. The following quotes from the video have a geographical
and interconnection flavour which makes it possible as a geographical study
under the guise of cultural geography and political geography in particular.

“Planet
connection through technology.”

“Technology
enables us to connect anywhere, anytime ... This connection is changing the way
the world works.” In short the video is highlighting the fact that technology
is making space diminish through the power of technology leading to increased
global interconnection.

“There
are more people on Facebook today than there were on the planet 200 years ago.”

“Humanities
greatest desire is to belong and connect.”

“Where
you live should not determine whether you live?

“It
is not just important for one people but for everyone to capture and stop Kony.

“Kony’s
name needs to be everywhere.”

“Will
use 20 culture makers to make Kony famous?

“Today
the people of the world can see each other and can protect each other.”

“The
power of media to mobilise the world to act.”

“To
change the conversation of a culture.”

“We
are living in a new world, a Facebook world where 750 million people share
ideas, not thinking in borders, it’s a global community.”

“Arresting
Joseph Kony will prove that the world we live in has new rules, that the technology
that has brought our planet together is allowing us to respond the problems of
our friends – a place where children, no matter where they live have a
childhood, free from fear.”

Does this not
sound like geography with its spatial and interconnection conceptualisation as
discussed in the draft curriculum document?

As a footnote to this reference to Kony2012
it is worth examining the controversy surrounding this initiative in terms of
the recent reports on the use of funds, scamming accusations and the mental
health of the film-maker Jason Russell, the driver of Kony2012. A fascinating
case study, relevant to geography, populist media in nature, current with
layers of truth and purpose. Surely it
can be made a geographical study to engage students and for them to learn about
the concept of interconnection...and space.

The Age of Interconnection: The Anthropocene

Whilst on
the concept of Interconnection it is worth referring to the so called new age of
the Anthropocene. The Anthropocene is best defined as the new
human-dominated period of the Earth's history, the age of interconnection
around the globe.
Technically, the Anthropocene is the most
recent period of the Quaternary, succeding to the Holocene. The
Quaternary is a period of the Earth's history characterised by numerous and
cyclical glaciations, starting 2,588,000 years ago (2.588 Ma). The Quaternary
is divided into three epochs: the Pleistocene, the Holocene, and now the Anthropocene.The
following links show this interconnection qualities of the Anthropocene rather
well.

The term and the concept of the Anthropocene, the idea that
human activity affects the Earth to the point where it can cross a new age, is
not new and dates back to the late nineteenth century. It seems that the
success of the term and its recent currency and adoption is due to the luck of
having been made at the appropriate time, when humankind has become more than
ever aware of the extent of its impact on global environment.

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Who am I?

I have taught history, geography and civics and citizenship in the South Australian education system since 1976. I have been actively involved in the promotion of geography and history over the years, in particular the use of spatial technology in schools. I am a Past Chair of the Australian Geography Teachers' Association (Chair 2008-13) and Immediate Past President of the Australian Alliance of Associations in Education (2013-present). During the development of the Australian Curriculum: Geography I was a member of the ACARA Advisory Panel (2009-2013) and Executive Director of the ESA GeogSpace project. From 2007-2011 and in 2015 I was the Manager for the Humanities and Social Sciences (HaSS) in the South Australian Department for Education and Child Development (DECD). Presently I am a Teaching Academic in HaSS Education at the University of South Australia and the Manager for the Premier's ANZAC Spirit School Prize in DECD.